Rounding out the final two games of their series with the San Francisco Giants, the Los Angeles Angels were able to get themselves back in the win column and headed in the right direction.
Now that Angels manager Phil Nevin and the Angels evened out their record at 58-58, they still remain seven games out of a Wild Card slot in the American League. With three teams still ahead of them, finding a proper time to ease back the workload on Shohei Ohtani is a difficult task.
Losing seven of their last 10, Ohtani giving the team another solid chance to win with another stellar start on Wednesday was a testament to how good he’s been. The two-way star hurled six innings, surrendering three hits and one unearned run.
He’d notch just five strikeouts against the Giants, but his performance was quite enough for the offense, and the bullpen to put together a solid team win, per the Associated Press:
“I was pretty frustrated with the way I was pitching,” Ohtani said through his translator. “I didn’t really feel right throughout the whole game.”
With division series’ coming up against the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers, the roster has to come together in perhaps their toughest stretch, considering their spot in the standings. Ohtani has appeared in all but two games this season, which says a lot about how much weight he’s put on himself in terms of responsibility.
Mike Trout’s injury made that no easier, because if one is in the lineup, the other could have some leeway to find time to rest for a day or two. But now that Trout is inching closer to a return, the only unfortunate thing is that Ohtani hinting at needing a day off, doesn’t coincide with a soft spot in the schedule:
“I think everyone is going through the peak of their fatigue right now, around this time of the year,” Ohtani said. “I’m not the only one. Going into an off day tomorrow, I’ll see how I feel the next day, and if I feel like I need a day or two, I’ll talk to the team about it.”
Even as he’s grinding through the season, Ohtani registered his 10th win on the year, lowering his ERA to 3.17 across 22 starts. Although he hasn’t been slugging at such a historic rate, he’s still carrying a 183 wRC+ with 40 home runs, 83 RBI and 89 runs scored.
Mike Trout will return once he finds comfort point with his injury
Trout’s absence has played a role in the Angels struggling as much as they have, surely, because in 100 plate appearances leading up to his injury, he posted a 142 wRC+ with five homers and 17 runs scored.
Trout had found a different level of comfort in the box in that span, seeing his walk-rate spike to 16%. The 32-year-old spoke on his rehab progress, which has signs of him itching to get back to game action.
Make sure to follow Angels Nation on Twitter for all the latest news and updates surrounding the Halos!
